After a lovely day horseback riding, Grayson drove Donika back to his house for dinner. They climbed out of the truck and she smiled and laughed at a joke he'd made. He unlocked the door and they went inside his comfortable old house. She sat at the counter across from him as he began to prepare dinner.

“I started beef stew in the crockpot this morning. It should be perfect by now.”

He popped some garlic toast into the oven and it cooked while he finished preparing the stew. Grayson uncorked a bottle of red wine and poured them both a glass. He dished up the stew and carried everything into the dining room. They sat across from each other, under an elk horn chandelier. The dining room had a big window with a view of the lake.

She took a bite of crusty French bread and groaned at the delicious flavor. Grayson was such an excellent baker. Everything he made was like heaven. She sipped her wine and ate her stew as she gazed at him. He had his flannel shirt folded back to his elbows, showing the tattoos on his arms and hands. He smiled at her, and she couldn't resist reaching out and stroking his beard.

“Thank you for a wonderful day. It really helped me take my mind off everything.”

“I'm happy to hear it,” he said, taking her hand and kissing it.

She sipped her wine and smiled as she watched the boats float by under the rising moon.

“Your house is so quiet. No crazy old ladies or guests tromping around.”

“It is peaceful here,” he said, taking a sip from his wine glass and gazing out at the water. “But it's missing something important.”

“What's that?”

“You.”

“What I wouldn't give to have a simple life with you here in Fate Valley,” she said, before she caught herself.

“What's stopping you?”

“I don't even know anymore. So much has changed since I arrived. I've changed. I used to believe I was one thing, but I think that I’ve come to understand that I'm something else. Something more. Someone who can love and be loved in return.”

He leaned over and kissed her, the taste of wine on his lips. She groaned as desire sparked in her belly and radiated throughout her body. Their kiss grew deeper. He stood, picking her up in his arms. She gasped as he lifted her out of her chair.

He took her upstairs and kicked the door of his bedroom closed as they walked inside. She panted as he tossed her gently on his bed. He pulled his flannel shirt off, crawling over her. Planting his lips on hers, his tongue slid into her mouth, dancing with her own. She ran her hands over his hard-muscled shoulders, feeling her desire growing by the second.

He was hard between her legs, and she pressed up against him. Their tongues slid over each other, their bodies molding to the other. He lifted her hands up behind her head and held her down, growling as he gazed into her eyes.

“I'm going to keep you here, so you can't change your mind,” he said with a sly smile.

“I'm not going to change my mind.”

He began peeling her out of her clothes, kissing every exposed spot of flesh as he went. Soon they were both down to their underthings and he was kissing her deeply, caressing her curves with his big hands. Donika was breathless with need and her mind went blank. All she could feel was the pleasure of his touch and the strength of his heart.

His cock throbbed between her legs, his tongue darting in and out of her mouth. This was all that she wanted. She wanted to live eternally in his arms. He pulled her out of her bra and he kissed her breasts, sucking her nipple into his mouth and lathing it with his tongue. She groaned and ran her fingers through his shaggy brown hair.

He fondled her breasts as he sucked her other nipple into his mouth. They were rigid and sharp, needy with desire. He kissed down her belly, lapping his tongue in her navel as he hooked his fingers in her panties. He slid them down her hips, her thighs, and off her feet. He flung them across the room as he growled and dipped between her legs. He licked up her slit with a deep throated groan.

“You taste better than apple pie.”

She gasped wordlessly, staring at the ceiling. His tongue slid over her hungry core, revealing deep wells of need. He sucked her clit into his mouth as he pressed his fingers inside her, caressing her inner desire. Her body quaked with a startling and almost painful explosion of pleasure. Her body throbbed on his fingers.

He held her like that, his tongue flat against her pussy as she quaked under him. He rose and slid out of his boxer-briefs, rolling a condom over his length. His mouth found hers, his tongue sliding between her lips, the taste of her body on his kiss.

She moaned under him as he tilted the head of his cock, pressing between her folds. She slid her hands down his muscled back and gripped his behind as he sank, inch by agonizingly pleasurable inch, inside her. She groaned as his thick, long cock filled her channel. All she could feel was right here and right now, with him. She moaned against his kiss as her body exploded in a mind-shattering orgasm, clenching on his manhood, deep inside her. He tilted his hips back and kissed her neck and chest as he thrust deeper.

“Grayson,” she panted, repeating his name over and over.

With each thrust of his hips, her orgasm cascaded into new heights. She held him tight as he moved. He took her higher than she had ever been. He kissed her neck as he thrust deeper inside her. Her well of yearning overflowed, and her connection to him expanded into a whole new dimension.

“Grayson, I love you,” she said, as he drove her into another orgasm.

“I love you too, my beautiful mate.”

“I didn't know it could be like this.”

Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. He gazed down at her as he held her, their bodies tangled and throbbing. He caressed her cheek with the back of his knuckles. The tears fell from her eyes and he kissed them away.

“Don't cry, my love.”

“But I’m so happy,” she said. “I didn't expect to feel this much.”

“You can feel it all with me. If you need to cry, then that's what I want you to do.”

He thrust again, harder this time while the sweet tears flowed from her eyes. She was so happy and so relieved that she was finally not alone. He kissed her neck and her cheeks so gently as his cock slid in and out of her velvety sheath.

She arched her back and screamed as his cock grew thicker and harder inside of her. He growled, nipping at her earlobe. He let out a shuddering, long breath as he released his seed. She ran her fingernails down his back. For that brief second, she wished that they were skin to skin, flesh to flesh, and that his seed was spilling inside her.

She had never wanted children before that very moment. Now that she was with Grayson, for the first time, she could imagine it. She imagined it would be beautiful. They held each other as their sweaty bodies throbbed, tangled in each other's arms. After a moment, he pulled away and threw the condom in the wastebasket. He enfolded her into his arms under the blankets.

“Holy shit,” she said under her breath, her pussy still throbbing.

Grayson laughed and put his arm behind his head against the pillow, holding her gently in his other arm. She rested against his chest and kissed his pecs as she caressed his stomach.

“That was really intense.”

“It was awesome.”

“Much better than anything I've ever even dreamed of.”

“The best of the best,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “You are my mate, and I'm yours.”

She giggled and leaned up on her elbow, resting her chin against his chest as she gazed into his eyes.

“You're so sweet, Grayson. I love you so much. I wanted to say it again while not in the throes of passion.”

“I know you meant it, babe. I can feel it in my heart.”

“Speaking of sweets, wasn't there a chocolate cake in the fridge?” she asked.

“There sure was. Hold on, I'll be right back.”

Grayson disappeared for a few moments. He came back with a tray holding big slices of chocolate cake and glasses of cold milk. They sat in the bed, cuddled under the blankets, resting against his padded headboard.

Grayson turned a silly movie on TV, and Donika laughed and smiled as she ate cake with her mate. She hadn't been so relaxed in years. She thought, if it’s this fun just to watch TV, eat cake, and drink milk with him, our lives together will be filled with pleasure and contentment. She sincerely couldn't wait.